I love shopping for summer clothes. Despite the changeable British weather, there’s something so happy about picking up a few breezy, colourful fashion pieces at the start of summer.
It’s best to dress the part. After all, Shakespeare likened feminine beauty to a summer’s day. So how do you satisfy your shopping cravings when you have an August holiday to save for and two spendthrift teenagers away from school forever?
And so we move from the Avon Poet to the brightly lit fashion aisles of Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons because, as Falstaff famously complained, Henry IV“I can find no remedy against the consumption of this purse.”
But seriously, supermarkets’ own-brand clothing lines – among them F&F at Tesco; George, Studio Edit and G21 at Asda; Nutmeg at Morrisons; and Tu at Sainsbury’s, which also has Everbelle and For All The Love under its umbrella – are my secret weapon this summer. This year, more than ever, they’re a magnet for trend-bending, affordable, boutique-style treasures that are stylish, affordable and refreshingly understated, from power-casual to free-spirited folk style and breezy elegance.
“Our bohemian black tiered ric-rac cut dress, [fashion-editor-turned-Instagram star] “Erica Davies loved it earlier in the year. It has gorgeous puffy sleeves, is super indulgent and only £26,” says Liz Evans, chief commercial officer for non-food at Asda.
The tiered mini dress she’s referring to quickly sold out after Davies shared it on her feed, proving that social media is helping to break down old stigmas around wearing supermarket-bought designs.
You might believe the hype, as fashionistas who shop designer brands and high-end boutiques are flocking to their local supermarkets to stock up on essential holiday looks. Glamorous influencers Sarah Ellis and Philippa Ross are a case in point. The duo, both in their 30s, run London-based clothing brand Wat The Brand and are best known for their fashion and lifestyle platform We Are Twinset.
The couple recently posted a video of themselves admiring tracksuits by F&F Clothing and cream crocheted beach trousers that look exactly like a pair from Melissa Odabash, as well as a “super chic” swimwear collection by Tesco. These style mavens are impeccably groomed, rocking Bottega Veneta bags and basking in the peachy glow of a Shu Uemura skincare routine.
This shows that shopping trolley fashion is rapidly evolving: from the mundane setting of a crowded supermarket to the luxury resort setting of posing by the pool.
According to Rachel Bines, director of product planning at F&F, the soft, “matchy-matchy” tailoring beloved of Ellis and Ross has been a hit; “Since its debut last month, the brand’s cream and black floral Cornelli suit has nearly sold out, as has our matching beige and cream Schiffli shirt-and-shorts set,” she says.
So why should our supermarket fashion sales be delivered in hushed tones, as if their very existence were an unspeakable breach of fashion etiquette? Even Ellis and Ross whisper that they’ve “gone rogue” as they enter the fashion section of Tesco. I’ve met plenty of people who struggle with this: they either say it sheepishly, as if they’ve asked for Imodium at the pharmacy, or conspiratorially, as if they’ve found a fiver behind the sofa, a little nervous and embarrassed that they’ve “won”.
“We’ve been working hard this year to refresh our overall brand look and feel. Customer response has been absolutely positive and we’ve seen fantastic year-on-year sales across all our channels,” says Liz Evans of Asda. Her statistics show George clothing sales are set to rise by 3.4% to £1.5bn by 2023, with the business seeing an average of 260m visits to george.com per year.
Whereas previously supermarket style winners were almost exclusively spotted by influencers as “imitations” or affordable copies of things that were financially or geographically inaccessible, own-label supermarket clothing is increasingly becoming fashionably desirable in its own right and is being showcased as such. What’s more, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between a supermarket look and a suit that costs several times the price.
Check out Tu’s bell-bottom pants.
It’s been so popular since it first launched in February that the bow-legged silhouette now comes in a variety of colorways and has been on the brand’s top 10 best-selling list for the past eight weeks.
The likes of Gigi Hadid, Blake Lively, Katie Holmes and Julianne Moore have been photographed wearing the voluminous denim style from luxury brands, but fashion editors have praised the £22 Tu version, with some saying it looks just as good as luxury designs from brands such as Frame, Agolde and Citizens of Humanity.
The barrel balloon look is not for me. I prefer the Everbelle collection, which features long, wide-leg jeans that are in line with this season’s boho chic trend popularised by Chloe’s new artistic director Chemena Kamali. muse of the day Sienna Miller. Made from pure hard cotton, I love the high-waist ecru version for a clean, crisp and well-structured retro look. They pair perfectly with Tu’s crinkled linen-blend peasant-style blouse (very Isabel Marant and only £18) and the brand’s chunky espadrille platform sandals (£20). I’d actually get these mixed up with the APCs, and they retail for over £300.
The question is, if I saw this outfit styled with the visuals of my favourite contemporary brand – there’s currently a tug-of-war between Parisian brands Rouje and Soeur – would I click to buy it? The answer is definitely yes, but I’d skip the platforms – with a few post-surgery pins in my feet, these inflexible numbers left me swaying and walking like a penguin, so it’s more Ministry of Silly Walks than Sienna Miller.
Decision: draw
I loved the boho look equally. Neither the cream blouse nor the cream jeans looked like they had been pulled from a bright orange bag. With the right gold accessories, you could really dress this Tu style up. The fact that the jeans are £28 and pure cotton means they will wash well and you can enjoy more than just a plain baked potato at your next summer barbecue.
The faux leather trim on the bag is disappointing; a classic Provençal style raffia basket bag with a thin strap is always a winner and you can find these at a good price in most high street stores right now.
Linen dresses always remind me of luxury travel adventures. You just have to look beyond frozen peas to find them – in fact, according to Sainsbury’s fashion communications team, ‘linen’ has been a leading search term on tu.co.uk since the start of May, with the brand’s black ultra-wide-leg linen trousers (£22, available in sizes 8 to 22) being the most trending item in this fabric category.
The khaki linen utility dress I tried on from George was too flashy for my taste. I think sophisticated safari style works best when kept simple, with fewer buttons, ties and pleats – think Meryl Streep Outside Africa outfitted with simple cotton drill shirts and classic tea-soaked linens. Jigsaw rocks this simple button-down brown linen vest dress that’s slightly wider at the waist.
Asda’s Studio Edit range, meanwhile, is full of sculptural silhouettes, big florals and loose-fitting pieces that look much more expensive than they actually are, as if inspired by the same Scandinavian design codes as Cos and Arket.
Verdict: Top earnings
You have to admit that linen wrinkles, but those lines should be consistent with the silhouette, not isolated areas of little distress, which is what happens when there are lots of different components, like rolled-up sleeves, loops, and a belt. It doesn’t take long before you feel a bit untidy, like you’re wearing a crumpled paper bag. I like the hat though, with those delicate holes.
For those who love a fun two-piece, F&F is the place to browse the aisles for flirty linen shorts and skinny vests. But since there’s no dedicated website, a consistent complaint in social media comments is that many styles and sizes are impossible to find in stores. Ironically, these so-called “quick-get” clothes are becoming as quickly out of reach as the coveted fashion collections themselves.
I managed to try on the brand’s sand-coloured linen vest and trouser combo, which I quite liked, especially the bottom, which had a nice weight and length with slight pleats under the high waist. The vest was too loose (only available in a size 14) so the stylist had to pin it back. It still didn’t feel right. The thing about vests is that if they don’t fit properly, the material slides around in a strange way, as if it’s being pulled by invisible strings. No wonder magicians love them so much.
Verdict: Top earnings
I wanted to channel Cate Blanchett’s cool garçonne style in Cannes with this F&F two-piece dress, but the top was too loose and I think the colour washed me out. It was bleached, you could say, like a thin cabbage leaf. The trousers were well cut, with nice slimming front pleats and long, wide legs, better suited to high heels.
Jigsaw impressed me again; they have linen Bermuda shorts with contrast front seams that make the waist look smaller and the tummy look flatter.
Finally, let’s talk about floral dresses—the summer staple for cool comfort and unabashed femininity. Everyone has one. Everyone wants another. There are dreamy 24th season collections from La Double J and Queens of Archive, filled with bold florals printed on puffy silhouettes.
They evoke nostalgia and balmy Mediterranean nights spent in good company. You just want to roll around in them and pretend you’re in a Federico Fellini film. These are investment pieces. The blue Double J dress I’m wearing is made from Lake Como silk twill and cost £870. Queens of Archive is a London-based, female-owned brand specialising in vintage-inspired bespoke prints and fabrics, with prices ranging from £195-£360.
Nutmeg at Morrisons doesn’t quite offer the same fairytale romance, but the brand has some great mid- to long-length flowing dresses that will help you look your most carefree. The brand is particularly good with its ankle-length, three-quarter-length, butterfly and wide-sleeve options.
Layered pure cotton dresses feature bold prints shaped like Matisse cutouts, while smooth shaping maxi dresses like mine in green are covered in tiny flowers and designed with a delicate ruffled neckline and hem. Made from washable workhorse fabric, this style, available to you for just £18, is as pretty as a style from Rixo or Reformation and costs less than £100.
Savings won’t get you tickets to see Taylor Swift, but they can get you a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar so you have somewhere stylish to wear it. If someone asks where you’re from, say “coconut” loudly and proudly or “muscular man“for some phonetics sublimation.
Decision: Draw
This Double J dress feels elegant and sounds expensive, as if it’s whispering the word “expensive.” I don’t wear patterns but I fell in love with this silky piece. Poor Morrisons had a tough case to follow.
However, the green floral Nutmeg maxi certainly belies its £18 price tag and could give similar but more expensive versions a run for their money. If you’re saving up, the supermarket option could make you feel just as special as a design that’ll blow your budget.